Retrieval Keeps Things Interesting

My retrieval was scheduled for yesterday (Monday) at 1:30 P.M. I've never had a retrieval that late in the day, so I figured I would be very hungry and thirsty leading up to it. The cutoff for food and drink was midnight Sunday night. 

On Sunday afternoon we headed to Queens to stay at an empty apartment owned by our friends. They are in the process of selling it but are waiting to close. We arrived around 9:00 and found the place easily. The apartment was really nice and spacious, but quite empty. Apart from the bed there wasn't much else. Unfortunately, we weren't able to pick up on any wireless networks so watched Net.flix from W's i.Phone. Not the biggest screen ever, but it worked. 

We slept in Monday morning and took our time as we showered and got ready. We left the apartment around 11:00 to head into Manhattan where the retrieval would take place. We found a cheap parking garage nearby and left our car for a few hours. 

From there we had over an hour to kill so decided to walk around some. I do not recommend walking around Manhattan around lunch time when you haven't eaten in twelve hours and are super hungry. I have to say though that the good and bad smells would waver from one step to the next, and one block to the next. There were certainly tons of restaurants to admire as we walked. There was even a guy who stood outside a place and offered free hot soup samples. Soup is my absolute favorite so it was a bit torturous to walk past and not take a delicious sample. 

We went into a few stores and made a few small purchases to kill the time. We then headed to the clinic with plenty of time to spare.  The staff was not overly communicative about anything. There was another couple there scheduled to go before me and the husband was not being cooperative. He refused to sign any consents without things being thoroughly explained to him. He also came to the front desk to complain that it was 1:05 and his wife's procedure time was supposed to be 1:00. I'm not sure if it was their first time or what, but they were making things much more difficult than they needed to be. 

Dr. Br.averman has a contract with this office. They only perform procedures and don't actually treat any patients. I would not see Dr. B during this procedure. 

I got changed and waited in the smallest recovery room ever. As I changed the other woman was taken into the procedure room. The recovery room I waited in contained three beds with a curtain between each one. They had me wait in the bed closest to the wall with the procedure room on the other side of that wall. There was a sliding door between the rooms.

As I waited a nurse came in and told me W had gone to give his sample. At one point the RE came in to explain the procedure and risks to me. He asked me if I had any questions and I asked about what kind of anesthesia would be used. For my last retrieval there was a shortage of Pro.pofol and I was in a lot of pain and remembered most of the procedure. Luckily the RE said they had Pro.pofol and joked I had done my last retrieval in Mexico. 

After what seemed like a little while the sliding door opened and I heard hysterical crying. I guess the woman who went before me did not wake up in a good place. They wheeled a bed from the recovery room into the procedure room and I heard them giving her instructions to transfer into that bed. The whole time she was hysterical and I heard it all. I'm not going to lie, this definitely made my heart start to beat a bit faster. 

After they wheeled her into the recovery room and had her cry in the bed next to me they told me it was my turn. I walked into the adjacent room and was immediately asked by the nurse if it was my first retrieval. When I told her it wasn't she was relieved because she didn't want the other patient to freak me out. 

The next bit was a complete whirlwind. The RE came in and instructed me to scoot down the bed while lots of other people moved around the room. I guessed who the anesthesiologist was and finally asked. He started the IV and asked me literally three questions, two of which were the same. It wasn't exactly the confidence I desired. Next things I knew I looked up to see am empty syringe in the anesthesiologists hand and heard him say, "things are underway." I felt a slight burning in my throat and was asleep quickly. 

I woke up and the nurses asked me to walk back to the recovery room. I was super lightheaded and felt  lots of cramps. They had me lie in the same bed I was in previously and all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep a little more. 

I guess they had other plans for me. They continued to bother me as I just wanted to be left alone to nap. The one nurse offered me a drink and I had zero interest in it. The anesthesiologist and RE came in numerous times. They put a blood pressure cuff on each of my arms. The anesthesiologist at one point lifted my legs and held them in the air for a few minutes. He kept straightening my arm for the IV and asked me to lie on my back rather than my side. They asked me if I was in pain to which I replied yes. They gave me something for the pain but it didn't really help. Most of this time was mostly a blur. 

Eventually I realized they were concerned about my blood pressure. When they asked me what my systolic pressure typically ran I said around 120-130. I then asked what it was. They replied that it was in the 70's! 

I remember seeing W as he hung back a bit and that I felt really cold. The RE came back (apparently he had left) and grabbed my hand to talk to me. I told him his hand was really cold. He decided he wanted to do an ultrasound since my blood pressure was so low and I was in pain. 

They wheeled me back into the room and did a trans-abdominal ultrasound. There wasn't any fluid there so they just continued to pump fluids into me through my IV and brought me back into the recovery room. 

Slowly my blood pressure came back up. The RE said he didn't want us to leave that night and told us it would be best to stay another night. He gave W his cell phone number, his secretary's number, and the hospital info for the one he had rights to. He said he thought I would be fine but it was just good to have that info and keep and eye on things. He said my blood pressure likely got so low due to the fact that I was so dehydrated. I guess that's what happens when you can't have anything to eat or drink for 13 hours. 

Once things were under control and I was more conscious I asked about how many eggs we got. The nurses disappeared for a few minutes and came back to give me some seriously disappointing news. 

They retrieved twelve eggs, only twelve. I know I had at least twenty follicles and felt a bit blindsided by this information. I started to ask questions and they brought in the embryologist. She explained that many of the follicles did not contain eggs. I was completely heartbroken. I am used to egg counts in the high teens or twenties and I knew we had a LOT of follicles. 

I know a lot of people would be thrilled with that many eggs but I was just caught off guard. I really had expected a much higher number. 

I had been instructed by Dr. B's office to take a HCG booster shot of 1,500 IU's after retrieval. I was completely confused about how to do this, so called his office to speak to a nurse. She talked me through it and then I asked about the empty follicles. She said she would ask Dr. B and put me on hold. 

Then Dr. B got on the phone and asked me what was up. I told him what I was told and how disappointed I was. He listened and replied with true concern and compassion. He said no one really knows why empty follicles occur but they likely aren't really empty. The eggs instead stick to the wall of the follicle and then the egg does not come free easily. He said likely it was an egg quality issue with those eggs but that it said nothing about the eggs that were retrieved. He told me it was way too early to get disappointed and that anything over 10 eggs was still good.  He said it could have been the stimulation protocol but there was no way to know that at the time. I honestly felt on the verge of tears. I was glad I was able to talk to Dr. B, and he seemed so positive, but I still felt pretty low. 

W tried to reassure me that we still got a bunch of eggs and that the embryologist said the eggs we got looked really great. 

We left around 4:30 and headed to get some food. My friend had recommended a mac & cheese restaurant so we ate there. As we sat and ate I wanted to cry multiple times. Between the blood pressure fiasco and empty follicles I was feeling really low. W continued to try to reassure me, but I just needed to process everything. From there we headed to a frozen yogurt place a few blocks away and I treated myself to as many delicious toppings as appealed to me. 

We headed back to the apartment in Queens and I napped for a bit in bed. After an hour or two I woke up and wanted to get some fresh air and go for a walk. I was a little hungry so we decided to look for a place to eat. We stopped at some kind of South American restaurant and had some delicious homemade soup. W and I both joked after we left that being in that restaurant was like being in another country. I was convinced I wanted to take the train into Manhattan to see a late night movie, but W was a little more guarded. He didn't think it was a good idea and I realized he was probably right when the cramping returned. 

We went back and watched a little more Net.flix on the i.Phone before we fell asleep. We did my PIO shot and I slapped some estrogen patches on my stomach. I still felt pretty sore and had a lot of cramps. 

I dreamt last night that I was looking for a place to hide and bawl my eyes out. I didn't want W to be there, so found some place and curled up in a chair with one of my dogs. I'm sure it reflects the disappointment I felt. 

I woke up this morning and felt much better. My stomach seemed to have gone done in size and I had gotten up a few times in the night to pee out some of the fluid they pumped me full of. 

We walked to get some breakfast and had another foreign country-like experience. After, we got back in the car ready to head home and I felt SO bloated and full. I reclined for most of the ride and things were quite uneventful as we drove. 

Around 3:00 I emailed Dr. B to get the fertilization report. He responded in literally two minutes to tell me of the twelve eggs retrieved 8 were mature. They performed ICSI on all 8 and... ALL EIGHT FERTILIZED!! This really helped to perk me up a lot.  Our first IVF we had a 55% fertilization rate, #2 we had 80%, #3 we had 61%, and #4 we had 68%. 100% really is great! I asked about In-Virto Maturation and he said they would try with the other 3 eggs. 

So, as much as I was disappointed by the number of eggs retrieved and overwhelmed by the whole blood pressure thing, I was happy to hear about the fertilization. 

We got home this evening around 5:00 and my MiL brought our dogs home to us and joined us for dinner. I still feel pretty full and uncomfortable and am sure I have at least a little OHSS, but I am okay. I'm going to try to work tomorrow but will see how I feel when I get up/as the day progresses. I really need to make some money and work since I have taken off so much time lately. 

I joked to W that I've had two near death experiences (sliding off the road in the snow and really low blood pressure after retrieval) already this cycle. Hopefully everything else will be smooth sailing from this point forward.

My transfer is still scheduled for Saturday at this point and we will head down Friday night and possibility stay the weekend in the city now that we have our own apartment to stay in. 

Tomorrow I will hear again how things are progressing and hopefully it will be more good news. Things have definitely been crazy this time, but I know it will all be worth it if we end up pregnant. Either way, there nothing else we can do but hold on and try to enjoy the ride. 

IVF #4 CD 16- Fertilization Report

So I got the call this morning from my clinic. Of our 23 eggs they were able to ICSI 19 of them. Of those 19, 13 fertilized (68%). I'm elated that we have 13 lucky little embryos growing. I know that more could still fertilize because it happened last time, so we will see. 

They told me I won't hear again about them unless I want to call. They will freeze the embryos on day 5/6 and I can call if I want to get more information from the embryologist at that time. 

I'm feeling much better today than I was last night. I didn't sleep great because I was super uncomfortable. I weighed myself before bed and was up 4 pounds from the clinic. I can't say my scale is the same as theirs, but my stomach was definitely distended. I weighed myself again this morning and was down 3 pounds. I feel much better. The lupron trigger shot is amazing in comparison!! I can't believe how much better I feel this time around. I almost feel like I could have gone to work today, but I'm glad to be home relaxing and taking it easy.

I'm glad we have the next few weeks to relax and not worry about anything IVF related. I can get my body back to normal and start feeling better before we transfer any embryos. 

Keep growing little ones! I have such a good feeling about this cycle.

IVF #4 CD 15- Catching Up

I haven't blogged in the past few days because things have been a bit crazy and I've just been too exhausted. I returned to my clinic on Tuesday since I wasn't ready to trigger Monday. Things looked much better and I had about 20 measurable follicles. The NP was quite sure I would trigger that day and gave me her cell number so I could confirm things once I heard from Br.averman's office.

Sure enough, I was told to trigger and my retrieval was set for 8:30 on Thursday (today) morning. On Tuesday my estradiol levels had jumped to 6115 from 4537 the day before. They wrote me a prescription for Dostinex to help prevent OHSS.

I triggered Tuesday night after book club dinner with the girls. It was so nice to see them and laugh a lot (as is always the case around them). I took a 30 unit dose of Lupron and was instructed to return to my clinic following day to check LH and progesterone levels. I guess this was to be sure the Lupron trigger worked. As far as I know, everything was good because I didn't hear otherwise.

Yesterday W and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. He bought me flowers that were just like my wedding bouquet and took me to dinner where we had our rehearsal dinner. It was really good and nice to spend time together. In addition, he refinished and painted an old window that had lots of window panes and put wedding photos in it for decoration on our bedroom wall. It looks really nice and I can't wait to hang it up.

Since I recently read the book Gone Girl I had the idea of traditional wedding gifts. On the third year it is leather. I bought him a table saw, a new leather belt, a leather bathroom travel bag, and some caramel chocolate squares.

Unfortunately, because I was so tired, I came home from dinner and fell asleep a little before 9. It did feel pretty fantastic to get all that sleep.

This morning we got up early and were at the clinic by 7:45. The nurse helping with the retrieval was very nice and my favorite NP also came in and listened to my heart and lungs and wished me good luck. When the anesthesiologist came in he told me there was a nationwide shortage on propofol so they were going to use something else.

Dr. Gr.eene came in and talked to me. He said he was committed to getting every egg and that I wouldn't remember anything. We talked about the freeze all option and he was super optimistic about it. He told me he recently wrote a blog post about it and that there was an article in the WSJ about it last week (a blogger friend had shared with me and I read it.) I asked him abut the uterine scratching that was mentioned in the article and he gave me further details and said he also blogged about that. The scratching is basically an endometrial biopsy. It's definitely something I'm going to ask Dr. Br.averman about. If we are planning the transfer next month we would do the endometrial biopsy in the next week or so. Here is a link to the WSJ article: Article

Retrieval really sucked today. Although I was out of it, I felt a lot and was in a lot of pain during. Although I don't remember complaining of the pain, W said I did at least 10 times. I'm feeling so much better now than I was at that time. I'm uncomfortable and moving slowly, but planning to take tomorrow off from work. I also have the whole weekend to recover. 

So....the number of eggs retrieved? 23!!! I'm pretty pleased about that number but know they won't all be mature. I will get the fert report tomorrow, so I'm hoping we get a good number of embryos.

Weight Gain and Loss

I weighed myself on Thursday night before bed the day of my retrieval.  This was the first time I had weighed myself during this cycle so I'm not sure if I was up any weight at that point. 

Yesterday morning when I woke up I weighed myself again and was up 3 pounds. I went into the office because of this and they told me to take it easy. Last night before bed I weighed myself and was up 8 pounds from retrieval. Other than the weight gain I was feeling pretty much alright. 

The nurse at the clinic yesterday told me the fluid just needed to shift around and that eventually I would pee most of it out. Yesterday I didn't pee as much as I should have so that was starting to make me a bit nervous. 

Well, last night I was up about every 45 minutes to an hour peeing. I lost 4.5 pounds overnight and am feeling much better. Now, if that Colace would just kick in I might lose a few more pounds! IVF is so much fun. 

Fertilized

I got the call as I was making my breakfast this morning. I had a feeling that would happen as soon as I started cooking. The result? Some burned bacon. I didn't enjoy it, but the dogs sure did. 

Of the 19 eggs retrieved 14 were injected with W's little guys. Of those, 8 had fertilized. They said there were still 5 that could fertilize, but we will see. As of right now we have 8 little combinations of me and W growing away. I was a little bummed initially by this number, but then realized that it's completely out of my hands at this point. If it's meant to be this time around it will. No worrying or feeling disappointed is going to change anything. I have to stay positive!

The nurse asked how I was feeling and I told her that I had gained 3 pounds overnight. She quickly talked to the NP and they said they wanted to see me today. I made an appointment at 11:15 to go in. The told me my transfer was scheduled for Tuesday at 11:15 and then asked if I planned to do acupuncture. When I said yes they transferred the call. 

I spoke to the receptionist at the Healing Arts Center and she said I was all set for an appointment after my transfer. I then asked if it would be my favorite acupuncturist, D and they said he wasn't working on Tuesday. There was only the guy I didn't like. I promptly cancelled the appointment and was a bit disappointed. 

On my drive into my appointment D called himself to ask how I was doing. I told him I had gained some weight overnight and that the office wanted to see me. He asked if I was interested in coming in to see him relaxing for a little bit. He told me to tell the receptionists that I was there for a consultation so I wouldn't have to pay. I told him I would be over after my appointment. He also said he would be willing to come in Tuesday for me so that I didn't have to see the guy I didn't like. 

I got to my RE's office and the receptionist was super concerned. She asked if I was OK and whether I wanted to lie down somewhere. I told her I was OK but just that they wanted to see me. She said she would get me right up. The waiting room was packed but I didn't end up waiting very long. 

They drew my blood and took my vitals and then instructed me to undress from the waist down. A NP I didn't recognize came in and did my ultrasound. My ovaries were pretty much the entire ultrasound screen when she measured them. It was crazy! There was a small amount of fluid in my abdomen, but everything looked pretty much OK. She told me that I need to take it easy and just relax for the next few days. If my conditioned worsened I was supposed to let them know and if I was in a lot of pain I was instructed to go to the ER. She sent me on my way with some pain medication and reiterated that I needed to take it easy. 

I asked about adding progesterone in oil to the Crinone this time and she said I could do whatever I felt comfortable with. She gave me some progesterone and syringes along with some instructions. 

I headed over to acupuncture and saw D for about 40 minutes. I took a little nap and felt some much less bloated after. He only did points on my stomach but I think it really helped. He told me if I was feeling uncomfortable again on Monday to call him and he would do the same. I felt so much better after some relaxation time. 

On my drive home I got a call from my clinic. I was nervous that something was wrong, but they were just calling to see if I would be willing to change my transfer time to 1:30 since Dr. K has a surgery that will likely run longer than they initially thought. This works much better for me because one of the children I work with is getting evaluated for Autism on Tuesday. I was so disappointed I wasn't going to be able to be there but now it looks like I will.

So, we have 8 little embryos growing and my transfer is Tuesday. I do have OHSS but it seems like with rest and relaxation I should be fine. I started my progesterone and Lovenox tonight and will add in Estrace later tonight. I hope our little ones continue to grow and that we have at least one good embryo to transfer on Tuesday. They won't call with any more updates so for now I just need to leave it up to the pros. 

Trigger Happy

At 8:00 this evening I sat in my car in my high school parking lot and shot 10,000 units of HCG into my stomach. Why my high school parking lot? I went to yoga tonight and was on my way home. The trigger shot needs to be done at an exact time, so the best place I could think of at that time was the parking lot. I don't think I ever imagined that when I was in high school. 

Retrieval is set for Thursday. I have to be there at 7:15 and this time W is doing his "part" at home. I guess it's easier for them and he doesn't really care either way. 

At this morning's appointment I was ready to start applauding when I was given the green light to trigger. It really feels like the stimming lasted forever this time. I had lots of follicles and my ovaries are right on top of each other. My date with wandy was quite uncomfortable! My estradiol levels dropped predictably and I filled my script for Dostinex to help prevent OHSS. 

The DJ Better Put On a Slow Song

I had another appointment this afternoon for intralipid therapy, blood work, and an ultrasound. The NP and I joked about how many more follicles have joined the party and that they're really growing up. I guess they aren't grown up enough yet, and it's time to slow this party down a bit. 

Due to the afternoon appointment, I don't know what my estradiol levels are. Shannon anticipated they would be higher than the 4691 that they were on Saturday. So, she gave me Cetrotide and told me to do that alone tonight. No Lupron, no Gonal-F, no Luveris. 

I've been feeling a lot of action in my ovaries and I swear they were pissed after I did the Cetrotide. They were like, who the hell put on a slow song, this party was just getting started!

There were a LOT of follicles today. I had 20 measurable ones but I'm sure there were some more. Whether those will all make it to be eggs or not, who the heck knows. A bunch were still a bit small and immature so I guess we are cutting the underage ones off from any more of the good stuff in hopes they leave the party and don't cause issues for everyone. 

I'm a bit disappointed that my retrieval has been pushed back and that I have to go in SUPER early tomorrow, but I just do what they tell me like the good little patient that I am. I think I'm bummed about two more days of work more than anything else. 

I'm not worrying about everything like the past and it feels good to relinquish some control. Not that I ever was in control anyway! I'm just riding the wave of IVF fun.

Truckin'

After feeling disappointed on Wednesday after my appointment, things have really picked up. I went in Friday and there were 10 measurable follicles on each ovary. My estradiol had risen to 2469. They reduced my dose of Gonal-F to 75 IU's and kept the others the same. Then they ruined my Saturday plans by telling me they wanted to see me again the next morning. I was really looking forward to going with some friends to a giant garage sale, but I missed out. 

This morning the NP told me she was going to get carpal tunnel measuring all of my follicles, but my estrogen made some huge leaps and was at 4691 in a little more than 24 hours. For some reason my estradiol levels want me to be immature about things, so it always seem to include the number 69 somewhere in there. They told me only to do Lupron tonight and skip all stims and then 75 of Gonal-F and 37.5 of Luveris tomorrow. I return Monday for blood work, an ultrasound, and intralipids.

When the nurse first entered the room this morning to draw my blood she mentioned that I would probably trigger tonight. This threw me a bit because I had been anticipating a Wednesday retrieval and told people I was taking that day off. When the NP did the scan she said she wanted me to get the full potential of this cycle and didn't want to trigger me too soon. I still have quite a few smaller follicles that I hope catch up. 

I will be taking Dostinex again to help prevent OHSS. This time I'm not as freaked out about things, I'm just trying to do my best to trust them. Coasting helped last time to reduce my levels and I didn't end up having any issues despite high estrogen levels. I am thankful I am such a high responder and that I can save some bucks on already expensive meds. Of course I ordered more that I don't think I will be using. 

We made some purchases today for our upcoming bathroom remodel. We bought an amazing sink and some tiles so I'm starting to get excited. I'm not excited about showering at the Y while our own shower is out of commission. 

I've been feeling really full and uncomfortable the past few days. I've also been pretty exhausted and making sure I get plenty of sleep. The headaches have been much better this time around which I am thankful for.  A new issue is that my contacts have been driving me crazy. I asked about it today and she said it could be a side effect of the meds or it could be that things are so wet in other places that it is drawing the moisture from other places. Great, my va-jay-jay is sucking the moisture from my eyes. How awesome of a mental picture is that? 

IVF #2 CD 14 Retrieval (Go Big or Go Home)

Retrieval was this morning at 9:30. We got there around 9:00 and waited for quite a while to be taken back. I got changed into my gown (which was HUGE) and then the nurse brought me a heated blanket to cover my exposed cheeks. I got situated in the room and then the nurse tried to start the IV. She first tried my left arm and it didn't go well. The needle went in but the IV fluids weren't going in very fast. She fumbled with the needle while it was in my vein for what felt like forever and it was bleeding a lot. She eventually just gave up and went to the right arm. That went fine. I'm sure my veins aren't going to be too pretty tomorrow. 

The anesthesiologist came in and talked to me, they hooked me up to a bunch of monitors and then the RE came in. It's not my RE, but I've only ever met mine once so it didn't really matter to me. This guy was super nice and friendly. He then said he knew I had been watching the ultrasounds and had an idea of how many follicles there were. He told me to keep a number in my head of how many eggs I was hoping would get retrieved. He then said he would try to beat it and that he does 90% of the time. The number I picked? 15. 

W was able to stay in the room and watch the procedure. He has recounted it to me and I'm kinda jealous I was the one knocked out. I was out so quickly once those meds hit it wasn't even funny. I vaguely remember them having me move down and then getting my legs strapped in. 

When I woke up I was SUPER crampy and uncomfortable. W came in the room a few minutes later from doing his part. Within about 5 minutes the embryologist came back to give me the number. 28!!! I am so happy with this but am definitely feeling the difference between retrieving 11 and retrieving 28. 

I feel like I was hit by a bus. A short bus, but still. The bloating in my belly seems to have gone down quite a bit which is good. I was given lots of instructions about OHSS but am hoping I don't need them. I started Destonex yesterday which is supposed to help and am feeling fine other than the cramping and general discomfort. I'm not so sure about working tomorrow since bending and reaching are not fun activities. I sit on the floor with little kids and have to be animated and excited. Not sure I'm up to that but I will see how I feel in the morning. 

All in all, I am really happy about the number of eggs retrieved. Everything went really well and I can't lie, W has been amazing. He will get me anything I want/need and he cleaned the entire house in the past few days. I couldn't ask for anything more. I hope we have some great mature eggs in the mix. I get a fertilization report tomorrow. 

IVF #2 CD 12 Trigger and Roller Coaster Emotions

The good news is my coasting and using Cetrotide seemed to work. My estradiol levels was much lower today and I was given the green light to trigger. I am so glad we are in the final stretch. 

We spent the weekend relaxing and I started to calm down about OHSS. When I didn't move on the couch, I felt great. When I got moving around I was really full and uncomfortable. By Sunday night some of the fullness had resided and I was confident things were looking up. 

This morning's appointment went fine. The NP really scared the crap out of me about OHSS and said if I were a "risk taker" she would suggest I continue with the trigger. If I were "more conservative" it might be best to withhold the trigger and cancel. She said most people do take the risk and continue with the trigger. The morning went by slowly as I waited to hear. 

My follicles had continued great growth. I had 2x13 mm, 3x14 mm,  2x15 mm, 1x16 mm, 2x17 mm, 4x18 mm, 3x19 mm, 1x20 mm, and 1x24 mm. Estradiol was 1215. 

So then I spent the afternoon worrying that it dropped too low. When the nurse called and told me the levels and that I should trigger I asked whether it was a problem they dropped so much. She said "that's what we wanted." When I asked whether I should do any more Gonal-F she said no. 

I also got a prescription for Dostonex to help prevent OHSS. I start that tonight with the trigger. They will also put me on Lovenox which doesn't start until after the retrieval. 

How can one go from fear of too high of numbers to too low of numbers in 2 days? I think the most important thing is that the follicles had continued growth and still look good.  I consulted Dr. Google and found this: 

"If you started cetrotide just before the estradiol drop it may simply be due to this; cetrotide and ganirelix will artificially lower your estradiol level and doesnt actually have any clinical relevance. (In other words the estradiol level becomes unreliable as a gauge of follicle size or growth when one uses cetrotide or ganirlelix). In such antagonist cycles you must go by the follicle sizes and their development in order to know when the stim is adequate, and most importantly, when to trigger with hCG."

So trigger is tonight at 9:30 and I go in for retrieval at 9:00 on Wednesday. I am so ready for retrieval it's not even funny. Man, IVF is such a ridiculous roller coaster!

IVF #2 CD 10 Scared and Coasting

I had another appointment this morning at 9:15. When she started the ultrasound the NP commented on how big my ovaries were. On the right side she just kept clicking and clicking, measuring away. The left side didn't take as long, but there was still a lot of measuring. 

From what I can tell there are 10 measurable follicles on the left: 1x10 mm, 1x11 mm, 3x12 mm, 2x13 mm,  2x 14 mm, and 1x15 mm. On the right there are 10 as well: 1x10 mm, 1x11 mm, 2x12 mm, 1x13 mm, 3x14 mm, 2x15 mm. To be honest, on the database this isn't any more room than for 10 on each side. There may be more but I'm not sure. 

The NP had to call my RE to get his opinion on what to do. I am not to take any more Gonal-F or Menopur. Only Lupron and tomorrow night I take the dose of Cetrotide that they gave me. W has been joking that the 900 pen of Gonal-F that were purchased is going to be our golden ticket. 

Now on to the scary part. My estradiol increased to 7672. Cue Liz freaking out. I go back Monday morning and am hoping my levels decrease some and that I am able to trigger. 

I'm trying to up my protein and electrolyte intake already and plan to continue (thank you awesome commenters for your advice). I had to switch to Vitamin Water because the Gatorade was just too sugary. 

I've definitely got a cold now. Stuffed up nose and head, sore throat, and slight cough. It isn't helping me to feel better about everything. I love immunosuppressant drugs. 

I took a nice long nap this afternoon and am trying to take it easy but I'm scared. I can't believe how high my estrogen is. I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that we may not be transferring our embryos this cycle. I need to do what is best for my health and safety and I realize that may be it. I'm just hoping for some good eggs and embryos to freeze if necessary. 

IVF #2 CD 9 Freaked Out

I had another ultrasound and more blood taken today. The appointment was at 6:45 and W joined me. It was so nice to have him there and to drive. To be honest, I felt horrible when I woke up. I started Dexamethasone yesterday and think this was part of it. 

I had gotten up last night around 3:30 or 4 to pee and had a really hard time falling back asleep. When I did I had horrible dreams. I was super late for my appointment in my dream and started off by getting a ride from my Mom in a crappy car. Then I was driving a rental van with a bunch of people and got stuck in really bad traffic. Then I was running and happened to be running more or less in circles. I woke up feeling incredibly nauseous and anxious. I really thought I was going to throw up but ended up being ok. W drove this morning so I was able to listen to music and recline in the seat. 

I had a much better dream the other night that I was riding my dog all around town. I had to hold on to her collar, but she was definitely larger than life in the dream. I also dreamt that I was pushing an empty baby stroller. 

I've been feeling really full and uncomfortable. Lots of action down there for sure. Today I really started feeling nauseous and my appetite wasn't very good. I've also started getting a bit of a sore throat and feel like I might be getting sick. A lot of the kids I work with are sick right now, but I'm hoping for the best. 

My blood pressure was a little better today because I had a nurse I like a bit more. When the RN did the ultrasound she commented on how many follicles there were but how it was a "great IVF cycle" since I had so many follicles so close in size. Her first reaction was "Oh, wow!" When I told her what my estradiol was on Wednesday, she said to expect a call with a change in instructions this afternoon. I left feeling really optimistic and positive about everything. 

On the left side they measured 8 follicles. 2x9 mm, 3x10 mm, and 3x12 mm. On the right they measured 9 follicles. 2x9 mm, 2x10 mm, 2x11 mm, 1x12 mm, and 2x13 mm. 

Then I got the call around 12:30. Yeah, my estradiol is 5006. Holy $#!*. I was told to take a much smaller dose on Gonal-F tonight (37.5 instead of 150) and to skip the Menopur. They want to see me again tomorrow and were talking about giving me something else (Cetrotide?) to help reduce to estrogen levels. 

I'm totally freaked out and worried about OHSS. I know there are more follicles they haven't measured and my estrogen is scary high. It jumped from 1710 to 5006 in two days. I'm scared. I'm really hoping it goes down a bit and that were are able to do a fresh transfer. 

Hoping for better news tomorrow.